CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

After several counseling sessions, Neeman Harthy brought his recommended course of treatment for Betty to John. It was one the captain wasn’t happy to hear. After serious consideration and consulting with Julie on the issue, he decided he needed to put her needs above his own fears.

He met Professor Harthy, Betty, Julie, and Drix in the medical storage room. John agreed to Betty speaking with the Io module but only on the condition that she did not bring her baby. Betty initially refused but Neeman was able to convince her that it was best that the first meeting be without the baby present in order not to overwhelm Jeff. Betty had come to trust the psychiatrist and accept his recommendation.

As Drix removed the module from the storage unit embedded in the wall, John noticed how happy Betty appeared. He wanted to grab and shake her back to reality. He wanted her see that Jeff was dead and all this a waste of time. Why didn’t he get rid of the module when he had the chance? He was seriously doubting this whole endeavor was a good idea. It took all his willpower not to put a stop to any of this.

The captain shivered as Drix placed the Io module on the table. Its darkened lens seemed to stare directly at him.

Julie saw the look of distress on John. “You ok?”

“No, I’m anything but ok,” admitted John. “But this isn’t about me.”

“You don’t have to be here,” reminded Julie.

“Thanks for offering me to bail out but I have to be here.” The captain looked at Drix. “You sure you can turn it on?”

“I will be able to deactivate it if necessary, John Captain,” replied Drix. “However, this technology is far more advanced than anything I have encountered. I have spent months studying it and still cannot determine its underlining operation.”

“Jeff will be so happy to see me,” said a giddy Betty. Her gleeful demeanor made John pity her even more. She really was unwilling or unable to accept her lover was dead.

“Remember what we talked about,” Neeman gently said to her. “You need to keep an open mind. We don’t know enough about this module to conclusively say whether it is Jeff.”

“Oh I will.” But John could tell she had already made up her mind. To Betty, the module was Jeff.

“Let’s get this over with,” as John nodded to Drix.

Drix initiated the activation sequence on his DAT. Within seconds numerous lights on the module lit up. No one said anything as it powered on. John hoped that maybe the module would malfunction or explode.

A shiver ran up the captain’s spine as he heard that sterile computer voice again. “Hello, Captain Roberts.”

John didn’t reply. It took a lot of effort on his part to resist taking it and throwing it against the wall. He felt this was a mistake. Drix and the ship scientists weren’t getting anywhere on learning how the module worked. It was simply too advanced to decipher. Why keep it?

“I see you brought me a visitor,” said the module. “Hello, Betty. I missed you.”

“I’m so happy to see you, Jeff.” Betty tried to approach the table but Neeman gently held her back.

“You look as beautiful as the first day we met,” said the module. “I remember when I saw you eating alone in the ground station cafeteria…”

“And you asked to join me,” continued Betty. “I do remember, Jeff.”

“I was worried I would never see you again,” said the module.

Betty motioned to John. “The captain was nice enough to reactivate you.”

“Thank you, captain,” said the module. “I know my condition is still an adjustment for you.”

John didn’t respond. He refused to play into what he believed was the module’s manipulation of Betty’s emotions. Every fiber in John’s being was telling him this whole meeting was a mistake.

“I want us to be a family,” said Betty.

“I would like that,” said the module. “To hold you in my arms.”

“How can you do that without a body?” Neeman asked the module.

“I can be easily provided a new body,” replied the module. “The Io can make it possible.”

“A robotic body?” asked Julie. She couldn’t resist asking the question.

“The Io are masters of genetic replication,” explained the module. “They can create a new organic body for me to use.”

“Yes, but not your body,” pointed out Neeman. “It’s not the same thing.”

“Once you become part of the Io, you learn that your soul is your mind,” replied the module. “The body is merely a vessel to carry your true essence.”

“But humans place importance on physical touch to reach an intimate connection of the mind,” said Neeman. “A connection made by remembering the unique intricacies of your loved one’s body. Betty made that connection when you were a human. Her baby represents that connection. A new body, as enticing as it sounds, could not recreate that bond. Isn’t that right, Betty?”

“Y..yes,” stammered Betty. “I want to lay next to you Jeff, to feel you hold me. But we can’t do that now.”

“You once said you trusted me,” said the module. “On our third date in the botanical gardens, I gave you a rose. I told you that we would be together no matter what.”

“Yes,” said Betty, as tears began streaming down her face. “I remember.”

“Do you trust me now?” asked the module.

Betty felt so conflicted. “I want to.”

“Then trust me when I say this. When the Io bestows the same gift on you they gave me, it will open your eyes to a new experience. Everything you want: physical touch, intimacy. You will have all of that but in a way unlike anything you’ve ever imagined. We will be connected in ways never possible as humans.”

“Betty…,” said Neeman.

“Do you promise?” asked Betty, who didn’t hear the professor.

“I promise you the universe, my love,” replied the module. “My heart and soul belong to you Betty. Nothing can change that.”

“I love you, Jeff. I want to be with you,” said Betty.

Neeman looked over at John and shook his head. It for nothing else, at least John gave it a shot. The captain motioned for Drix to deactivate the module.

The module realized what Drix was doing. “Betty, they’re going to keep me away from you. Please help me!”

“What are you doing?” asked Betty as Drix turned off the module. “Stop it! Leave Jeff alone!” Neeman struggled to hold her as she spiraled into an uncontrollable rage. “You can’t keep him from me! I want to be with him! Jeff! Jeff!”

John and Julie helped to restrain Betty as Neeman injected her with a tranquilizer. Within moments she slumped into unconsciousness.

“I’m sorry, captain,” said Neeman as they laid her down on the floor. “It was a calculated risk bringing her here. I was hoping the reality of the situation would jolt her out of her state.”

“It’s ok, we had to give it a shot,” reassured John. He looked down at Betty and felt sorry for her. As upsetting as it was for him, he accepted his sister’s death. But Betty couldn’t accept that Jeff was gone.

“I take it we don’t have to do this again,” said Julie.

Neeman shook his head. “Her psychosis is too strong. Another interaction with the module will only lessen her grip on reality. If there’s any hope of helping Betty, she’s to never look at that thing again.”

John looked over at the module. “There’s no reason to keep that thing. We should destroy it.”

Julie spoke up. “Captain, that’s not such a good idea.”

“Why not?” asked John. “We’ve barely learned anything about the module and I’m not planning on ever going back to the Io planet.”

“John Captain, we do not know if that was the Io homeworld,” said Drix. “We may encounter them on another planet or on a starship. We should keep the device and continue our analysis.”

“Drix’s right,” added Julie. “We need to learn as much about them in case we run into them again.”

John wanted to ignore their arguments but he couldn’t. It made tactical sense to keep studying it to try and unlock the workings of Io technology.

“Drix, make sure that thing is turned off and lock it back into storage,” ordered John. “Only you and the authorized scientists are allowed to work on that thing. I want everyone else to stay away from it.” It seemed that, for now, John was stuck keeping something that scared the hell out of him.